An Australian man is recovering from a close brush with death after surviving a fall of nearly 30 metres into a ravine in East Vancouver on Tuesday.

The man, who had been drinking, climbed up onto a railing over the ravine near the Commercial Drive SkyTrain station, apparently looking for somewhere to relieve himself.

'He held on to it pretty tight, I'm thinking.'-Fire department Capt. Rick Matsen

"I guess he was really drunk," said one witness. "He tried to grab on to the tree there, to climb down, and he fell all the way to the bottom."

Emergency officials say the man broke at least one bone, but will be OK, as branches slowed his fall.

Vancouver fire department Capt. Rick Matsen says it was obvious the man had been drinking until just moments before his fall.

"Well, it just so happens he had a beer with him when he was brought up," he said.

"Still in his hands?" asked a reporter.

"Still in his hands, yup. He held on to it pretty tight, I'm thinking," said Matsen.